A smart card is a card of about the size of a credit card or smaller, and that has an embedded memory chip connected to contact pads on the lower face of the card. One type of connector for reading information into or out of such a card, has a card-receiving slot into which the card can be inserted. The card is pushed forward until the card reaches an operating position wherein contact blades of the connector engage the contact pads of the card. The connector requires means for guiding forward card movement, for holding the card in the operating position, and for later moving the card rearward to a rest or extraction position at which a person can move the card out of the connector, all in a simple and low cost manner.